PACKAGING

The Pelikan Twist from Europe is presented in a small cardboard box. The pen came with a single Pelikan long international cartridge. It's super basic, not wasteful, and recyclable so I am happy with that. No unnecessary plastic.

APPEARANCE

The Twist is a cute pen! I have the Pink but it is available in a few color combinations. It is a smaller pen than what I usually use but is not into the pocket pen range. It has a twisted plastic body and blunt ends. The twisted shape is emphasized by the edges around the body.

The finial has three open slots and the Pelikan logo is raised out of the pink plastic. The barrel is marked with 'Pelikan' and the logo. The cap and band are pink plastic, and the section is grey. The section has the same twisted shape as the barrel with three flat surfaces for your grip.

Not much to it. It's basic, no frills aside from the shape. Cute, eye-catching, fun design.

NIB & PERFORMANCE

This is a medium steel nib. It has a single slit, no breather hole, and it is engraved with an 'M'. The feed is plastic. Although the tip looks slightly rough, it writes pretty well.

The Twist is a decent writer. It is reliable, medium smooth (not glassy, a little feedback), and the medium line is great for daily use. It is on the dry side in terms of actual ink flow, but I did not experience it running dry while using it regularly. No skips, no hard starts, well-adjusted, well tuned. It's a stiff nib so there's no line variation to speak of. This is good for those who press hard when writing because you won't mess up your nib! I've had $500 pens perform worse - perhaps more luxuriously when they did write, but not so reliably. I am pleased the performance is reliable as it makes this a decent beginner pen option.

The one issue I ran into was that I could not get a standard international converter to fit the pen - only Pelikan cartridges/converters fit properly.

IN HAND

There is no clip on this pen but it does not roll around because of the shape of the body. Convenient for keeping on your desk!

Top to bottom: Lamy Safari, Pelikan Twist, Pelikan Souverän M800

The section is interesting. It's slightly rubbery with an ergonomically shaped grip so you hold it properly. This is not my preferred grip style but the section itself is comfortable to the touch.

Unposted, the pen is comfortable, well-balanced, and works well for longer writing sessions. The cap sort of posts by friction but it makes the pen too long and I find it wobbly. I always use it unposted.

PROS & CONS

OVERALL

There is not a whole lot to say about this pen, but there's not much to object to either. I love the Lamy Safari as a beginner (and regular use) pen, but the Twist is cute, colorful, bright, cheery, comfortable, inexpensive, and writes well. I also like that it doesn't have an overwhelming amount of color or nib options, which can sometimes be intimidating for a new user looking to buy a fountain pen. It is an inexpensive plastic pen and it may not look very expensive, but it's cute. Great gift, great for kids, adults, and for getting people hooked on pens!

I received this item/these items free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion.